Crypto license in Hong Kong

Licensing regimeLast reviewed 2026-08-24

Do you need a crypto license in Hong Kong?

Yes. Operating a virtual asset trading platform in Hong Kong requires an SFC licence, and the register is small and hard-won: thirteen platforms hold one, while several large international exchanges applied and then withdrew.

Read this before you plan an application

Several major international exchanges applied for this licence and withdrew, including OKX, Gate and HTX. A platform advertising that it is applying in Hong Kong is describing an intention, and the withdrawal list shows how often that intention does not complete.

Hong Kong's platform regime went live in June 2023 and has produced one of the most informative registers in this comparison, because it records failure as well as success. Thirteen platforms are licensed. A handful more are pending. And a notable group applied and withdrew, including OKX, Gate and HTX, which tells a founder more about the real bar than any fee schedule does. The capital requirement is modest by the standards of a major financial centre; the operational requirements around custody, insurance and local presence are not.

Regime: Licensing regime
Regulator: Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)
Framework: Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (2023)
Minimum capital: HKD 5 million in paid-up share capital, plus liquid assets covering at least twelve months of operating expenses held in Hong Kong, excluding the platform's own crypto holdings
Foreign owners: Foreign groups hold several of the licences, but the applicant is a Hong Kong entity with local presence and responsible officers, and the liquidity buffer must be held in Hong Kong.

The framework

Virtual asset trading platforms are licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission under the anti-money-laundering ordinance, with the regime commencing in June 2023. A platform serving Hong Kong investors needs the licence; there is no lighter registration tier beneath it.

Capital and liquidity

The headline is HKD 5 million in paid-up share capital. The requirement that actually shapes the business is the second one: liquid assets covering at least twelve months of operating expenses, held in Hong Kong, with the platform's own crypto holdings excluded from the calculation. A platform cannot count its treasury toward its liquidity floor.

Who is licensed

Thirteen platforms hold a licence, including OSL Digital Securities, HashKey Exchange, HKVAX, HKbitEX, Accumulus, DFX Labs, EXIO, PantherTrade, YAX, Bullish, BGE, VDX and Bixin. Crypto.com, Bybit and Matrixport have been in the applicant pipeline.

The withdrawals are the more useful list. OKX, Gate and HTX all applied and withdrew, as did Bybit's original 2024 application. These are not small firms, and their withdrawal is the clearest available signal of what the assessment involves.

What to watch

HashKey Exchange in Hong Kong and HashKey's Singapore OTC entity are different businesses under one group, and are frequently conflated in licence roundups. If you are checking a counterparty, check which entity holds which licence in which jurisdiction.

License classes in Hong Kong

License classes, the activities each covers, and their fees and capital requirements where published.
Class	Covers	Fee	Capital
Virtual Asset Trading Platform	Operating a platform for trading virtual assets, serving Hong Kong investors	Not published	HKD 5 million paid-up, plus twelve months of liquid operating expenses

What the application requires

Hong Kong incorporated company or registered non-Hong Kong company
HKD 5 million paid-up share capital
Liquid assets covering twelve months of operating expenses, held in Hong Kong
Responsible officers approved by the SFC
Custody arrangements with cold storage and insurance
Anti-money-laundering systems meeting the ordinance
Token admission and review process for assets listed

The application process

Incorporate and staff
Hong Kong entity with responsible officers who can be approved by the SFC
Build custody and controls
Cold storage, insurance, token admission process and anti-money-laundering systems
Apply to the SFC
For a virtual asset trading platform licence
Assessment
A second phase assessment examines the platform in operation, and is where several applicants have withdrawn
Licence granted
The platform appears on the SFC's published list

Costs and taxation

The capital floor is modest for a financial centre of this size, so the cost that decides feasibility is the operational one: custody arrangements, insurance, local staffing and the twelve month liquidity buffer that cannot be met with crypto.

Hong Kong profits tax is 16.5 percent for corporations, under a two tiered regime charging 8.25 percent on the first HKD 2 million of assessable profits and 16.5 percent above that.

Who is licensed today

The SFC publishes the list of licensed virtual asset trading platforms, and separately lists applicants and firms whose applications have been withdrawn or returned. Reading all three lists together is the honest picture of the regime.

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Frequently asked questions

How many crypto exchanges are licensed in Hong Kong?

Thirteen virtual asset trading platforms hold an SFC licence, with a small number of further applicants pending.

What capital do I need for a Hong Kong VATP licence?

HKD 5 million in paid-up share capital, plus liquid assets covering twelve months of operating expenses held in Hong Kong, excluding your own crypto holdings.

Which exchanges withdrew their Hong Kong applications?

OKX, Gate and HTX all applied and withdrew, as did Bybit's original 2024 application.

Who regulates crypto exchanges in Hong Kong?

The Securities and Futures Commission, under the anti-money-laundering ordinance, with the platform regime live since June 2023.

Is HashKey Exchange the same as HashKey in Singapore?

No. HashKey Exchange is the Hong Kong SFC-licensed platform; the Singapore licence is held by the group's OTC arm. They are different businesses.

Sources

Buying bitcoin as an individual is a different question entirely: how to buy bitcoin in Hong Kong covers exchanges, payment methods and legality for residents, and the crypto license hub compares every jurisdiction we track.